Ecotourism is a growing industry

Published: Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 8:19 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 8:19 p.m.

Tourism officials are buzzing about new ways to draw visitors to Louisiana to experience its unique environment, flora, fauna and outdoors activities.

What industry officials are calling ecotourism has always been a factor driving visitors to the area, said Carolyn Cheramie, director of the Bayou Lafourche Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Expanding interest in agriculture and food production could lead to even more opportunities such as seafood and farm tours.

Ecotourism includes popular south Louisiana activities such as swamp tours, birding, charter fishing, recreational fishing on local beaches and bayous, and walking on trails.

Interest in ecotourism has flourished in recent years for a variety of reasons, said Jennifer Ritter Guidry, assistant director for the Center for Cultural and Ecotourism at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

After the 2010 Gulf oil spill, many affected parishes received money from BP to make up for lost tourism dollars. Some of that money was to be directed to ecotourism to help in the recovery of affected natural resources and the people who lived off of them.

“There was a very real threat to those resources that compose ecotourism,” Guidry said.

Waters were closed to recreational and commercial fishermen, coastal areas were closed for cleanup and the nation saw repeated images of black crude coating birds and beaches. There was also a persistent fear about eating seafood contaminated by oil that industry officials still battle today.

There's also been an increased interest in Louisiana's residents and the state's environment with the popularity of shows such as History Channel's “Swamp People” and A&E's “Duck Dynasty.”

While the shows may sometimes present a skewed perception of life in the bayou communities, Guidry said the increased awareness they bring to Louisiana is valuable.

“They're seeing some of the most beautiful areas of the state that not a lot of people travel to,” she said.

Sondra Guidry, who owns A Cajun Man Swamp Cruise with her husband Ron “Black” Guidry, said that business has been up and down over the years and was particularly impacted by the perception of visitors after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.

“I remember we had people calling us six months to a year afterward asking if we were still under water when we were never under water,” she said.

Now many of their guests are asking about “Swamp People” when they go on a cruise.

Ecotourism is also getting bigger because of increasing interest from city residents about where their food comes from. The so-called farm-to-table movement has stirred an interest in agritourism, an offshoot of ecotourism that includes tours of working farms and food businesses.

The Legislature has worked toward making those more feasible for farmers to run as side businesses by protecting them from liability if tourists want to, for example, visit a sugar cane farmer and tour his equipment.

Outdoor recreation is already a big economic driver in the state, and it's growing.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, nationally, 38 percent of Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2011, an increase of 2.6 million people compared to the last survey conducted in 2006. The number of hunters nationwide increased by 9 percent, and the number of fishermen increased by 11 percent.

In Louisiana, more than 904,000 people hunted and fished in 2011, more than the population of the entire Baton Rouge area, according to data released by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation.

Those hunters and fishermen spent more than $1.67 billion in Louisiana with a ripple effect of $2.5 billion, according to the foundation. In addition, their activities supported 23,345 jobs in the state.

Terrebonne and Lafourche were each granted $2.1 million in marketing aid to recoup tourism losses from the BP oil spill.

Terrebonne Parish in particular has grounded out two new marketing campaigns on the draw of its outdoors.

The parish has worked to tag itself as the “saltwater fishing capital of the world.” The parish is also promoting itself as “Louisiana's Bayou Country.”

Janel Ricca, director of the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and a leader of the parish's marketing effort, said the ideas just came naturally during a branding brainstorm session.

“We live off the land, and that's what we're all about,” she said.

There was also a need to shift focus away from the idea that the natural environment had been irreparably harmed by the BP oil spill.

“We wanted to show people the beauty we do have down here,” she said. “We've recovered, and this is what we have to offer.”

In addition to heavily marketing the area's fishing, the parish is installing wayfaring signs and information kiosks to guide travelers easily to points of interest around the parish. Those should all be in place by November.

Ricca said Terrebonne's tourism board is always looking for ideas, such as paddling tours, that could promote the area's environment.

Ecotourism is only going to continue to grow, Jennifer Guidry said.

But she said one of the great things about this offshoot of tourism is it promotes environmental awareness and stewardship of our natural resources, which is particularly important on Louisiana's coast, which faces the threat of erosion.

“We're building awareness,” she said. “And Louisiana is one of the luckiest states because our tourism is fully grounded in our environment, culture and people.”

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

<p>Tourism officials are buzzing about new ways to draw visitors to Louisiana to experience its unique environment, flora, fauna and outdoors activities.</p><p>What industry officials are calling ecotourism has always been a factor driving visitors to the area, said Carolyn Cheramie, director of the Bayou Lafourche Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Expanding interest in agriculture and food production could lead to even more opportunities such as seafood and farm tours.</p><p>Ecotourism includes popular south Louisiana activities such as swamp tours, birding, charter fishing, recreational fishing on local beaches and bayous, and walking on trails.</p><p>“We've always promoted those things, and we'll continue to promote them,” Cheramie said.</p><p>Interest in ecotourism has flourished in recent years for a variety of reasons, said Jennifer Ritter Guidry, assistant director for the Center for Cultural and Ecotourism at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.</p><p>After the 2010 Gulf oil spill, many affected parishes received money from BP to make up for lost tourism dollars. Some of that money was to be directed to ecotourism to help in the recovery of affected natural resources and the people who lived off of them.</p><p>“There was a very real threat to those resources that compose ecotourism,” Guidry said.</p><p>Waters were closed to recreational and commercial fishermen, coastal areas were closed for cleanup and the nation saw repeated images of black crude coating birds and beaches. There was also a persistent fear about eating seafood contaminated by oil that industry officials still battle today.</p><p>There's also been an increased interest in Louisiana's residents and the state's environment with the popularity of shows such as History Channel's “Swamp People” and A&E's “Duck Dynasty.”</p><p>While the shows may sometimes present a skewed perception of life in the bayou communities, Guidry said the increased awareness they bring to Louisiana is valuable.</p><p>“They're seeing some of the most beautiful areas of the state that not a lot of people travel to,” she said.</p><p>Sondra Guidry, who owns A Cajun Man Swamp Cruise with her husband Ron “Black” Guidry, said that business has been up and down over the years and was particularly impacted by the perception of visitors after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.</p><p>“I remember we had people calling us six months to a year afterward asking if we were still under water when we were never under water,” she said. </p><p>Now many of their guests are asking about “Swamp People” when they go on a cruise.</p><p>Ecotourism is also getting bigger because of increasing interest from city residents about where their food comes from. The so-called farm-to-table movement has stirred an interest in agritourism, an offshoot of ecotourism that includes tours of working farms and food businesses. </p><p>The Legislature has worked toward making those more feasible for farmers to run as side businesses by protecting them from liability if tourists want to, for example, visit a sugar cane farmer and tour his equipment.</p><p>Outdoor recreation is already a big economic driver in the state, and it's growing.</p><p>According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, nationally, 38 percent of Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2011, an increase of 2.6 million people compared to the last survey conducted in 2006. The number of hunters nationwide increased by 9 percent, and the number of fishermen increased by 11 percent.</p><p>In Louisiana, more than 904,000 people hunted and fished in 2011, more than the population of the entire Baton Rouge area, according to data released by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation.</p><p>Those hunters and fishermen spent more than $1.67 billion in Louisiana with a ripple effect of $2.5 billion, according to the foundation. In addition, their activities supported 23,345 jobs in the state.</p><p>Terrebonne and Lafourche were each granted $2.1 million in marketing aid to recoup tourism losses from the BP oil spill. </p><p>Terrebonne Parish in particular has grounded out two new marketing campaigns on the draw of its outdoors.</p><p>The parish has worked to tag itself as the “saltwater fishing capital of the world.” The parish is also promoting itself as “Louisiana's Bayou Country.” </p><p>Janel Ricca, director of the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and a leader of the parish's marketing effort, said the ideas just came naturally during a branding brainstorm session.</p><p>“We live off the land, and that's what we're all about,” she said.</p><p>There was also a need to shift focus away from the idea that the natural environment had been irreparably harmed by the BP oil spill.</p><p>“We wanted to show people the beauty we do have down here,” she said. “We've recovered, and this is what we have to offer.”</p><p>In addition to heavily marketing the area's fishing, the parish is installing wayfaring signs and information kiosks to guide travelers easily to points of interest around the parish. Those should all be in place by November.</p><p>Ricca said Terrebonne's tourism board is always looking for ideas, such as paddling tours, that could promote the area's environment.</p><p>Ecotourism is only going to continue to grow, Jennifer Guidry said. </p><p>But she said one of the great things about this offshoot of tourism is it promotes environmental awareness and stewardship of our natural resources, which is particularly important on Louisiana's coast, which faces the threat of erosion.</p><p>“We're building awareness,” she said. “And Louisiana is one of the luckiest states because our tourism is fully grounded in our environment, culture and people.”</p><p>Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.</p>